Putin will encourage Belarus to participate in the war – Nayev

The Ukrainian military leadership believes that Putin will encourage Lukashenko to send troops to Ukraine during the meeting in Minsk.

The Commander of the Joint Forces the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant-General General Serhiy Nayev, announced this.

During the visit, it will be discussed about the wider involvement of the armed forces of Belarus in the war against Ukraine, in particular on land.

“In our opinion, during this meeting, the issues of further aggression against Ukraine and the wider involvement of the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus in the operation against Ukraine will be worked out, in particular, in our opinion, on land,” Serhiy Nayev said.

On December 19, Putin plans to visit Minsk with a large government delegation.

Initially, a meeting with the participation of all ministers is planned, then a one-on-one meeting between Lukashenko and Putin, and then a press conference.

It is reported that the parties will discuss “the process of implementing the previously approved union programs”, in particular trade and economic cooperation and joint projects “with an emphasis on import substitution”, cooperation in the energy sector and security issues.

Also, the Ministers of Defense of Belarus and Russia, Viktor Khrenin and Sergei Shoigu, will take part in the talks between Lukashenko and Putin on December 19.

The British Institute for the Study of War believes that Putin will put pressure on Lukashenko in order to achieve concessions regarding the integration of the two countries.

On December 17, Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, stated that at this time Belarus is not ready to fully participate in a ground operation against Ukraine.

Russia is now using this country as a training ground, training of the mobilized, as well as a base for the supply of weapons, in particular heavy ones.war

As previously reported, in October, a train with military equipment heading towards the Russian Federation was spotted in Belarus.